Lemon Meringue Cups

My husband loves lemon meringue pie. I do, too, but for the past few years my pie crusts have been dismal. I have no idea what changed since I use the same recipe as I always have. But now, I try to avoid making them. Instead I came up with the idea of making the filling and  meringue in a ramekin, without the crust.

I made these for Valentine's Day dinner last night and I'll be using this idea again. On top of the lemon filling I spooned a bit of strawberry sauce to add some red colour. 


I used four 4-oz ramekins. The recipe filled them well. I found it quite a lot to eat, and next time, I'd use six 4-oz ramekins and not fill them entirely.


Lemon Meringue Cups


Lemon Filling:
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 cup water
2 egg yolks, slightly beaten
2 Tablespoons butter 
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
4 Tablespoons strawberry preserves


Heat oven to 400 degrees F. Mix sugar and cornstarch in medium saucepan. Whisk in the water. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and boils. Gradually stir in 1/2 to 1/3 of the mixture into the beaten egg yolks, whisking all the while. Return mixture to saucepan, whisk all together and boil and stir one minute. Remove from heat, stir in the lemon juice and butter. Pour into four (or six) 4 oz oven proof ramekins or custard cups. Gently spoon the strawberry preserves on top of the lemon. 


Heap meringue (recipe follows) onto filling, taking care to spread meringue right to the edges of the cup. This will prevent it from shrinking or weeping as it cools. 


Bake about 10 minutes or until a delicate brown. I found there was quite a lot of meringue and baked them for 15 minutes, watching carefully the last few minutes to ensure they didn't burn.


Meringue:
2 egg whites
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla


Beat egg whites and cream of tartar until foamy. Beat in sugar, 1 Tablespoon at a time; continue beating until stiff and glossy. Beat in vanilla. 

Meringue-Topped Cookies (Morkakor)

Happy Valentine's Day!

Heart-shaped cookies are a tradition in my family for Valentine's Day. Instead of my mom's usual sugar cookie recipe, this year I used a recipe from my husband's family - Morkakor. His grandfather was Swedish and these were his favourite cookies.

A buttery, crisp, almond-flavoured foundation is spread with meringue that bakes up crisp and can turn chewy if the humidity is high. They are delicious either way. The original recipe calls for the meringue to be sprinkled with chopped almonds. I used sprinkles in honour of Valentine's Day, to provide a little colour.

Morkakor (makes about 4 dozen cookies)

1 cup butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
2 egg yolks
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
2 cups flour

Cream butter, add the sugar gradually and beat until fluffy. Beat in the egg yolks, one at a time, and then the almond extract. Add the flour. Form dough into a ball, chill if too soft to handle. Roll to 1/8" thickness between two sheets of parchment paper, lightly floured. Cut with a floured cutter. Place on baking sheets. Spread each cookie with meringue (recipe follows) and sprinkle with nuts or candy sprinkles. Bake at 350 degrees F for 10 minutes. The cookies should be firm and the meringue a light brown. Cool on wire racks. Store tightly covered.

Meringue

2 egg whites
12 Tablespoons sugar
4 Tablespoons chopped almonds, or candy sprinkles

Beat the egg whites until soft peaks form. Gradually add the sugar, and beat until the meringue is stiff but not dry. Spread on cookie bases. 
 

Red Onion Soup

Our traveling children are currently in the Calabrian region of Italy. The other day in the library I came across this book --

Part cookbook, part memoir, the author, Rosetta Costantino chronicles the traditional foods of southern Italy. Tropea, a small village perched on a cliff overlooking the Tyrrhenian Sea is famous for its sweet red onions. Rosetta gave a recipe for a red onion soup that I thought sounded delicious.

And so it is. It's similar to French Onion Soup, but sweeter. Very mellow and rich. The famous red onions of Tropea are not available here, but Rosetta suggested using the red onions we do have. Unlike the French version of onion soup, this one has no crouton on top, just cheese, broiled until brown. I tinkered with the recipe a little, adding in some red wine and using chicken stock in place of water or vegetable stock.

The recipe is simple, but give yourself enough time to make it. The onions need to cook slowly, not browning at all, for at least one hour, then an additional 30 minutes in the stock.

Red Onion Soup

3 pounds sweet Italian red onions, halved and thinly sliced

1/4 cup olive oil

1 Tablespoon kosher salt

1 1/2 quarts (6 cups) chicken stock (or water, or vegetable stock)

1/2 cup red wine

freshly ground black pepper

freshly grated Pecorino cheese

Pour the oil into the bottom of a 6-8 quart pot. Stir in the onions and the salt. Cook over medium low heat, stirring occasionally, until the onions are very soft and sweet, not browned at all. This will take about 60 minutes. 

Add the wine and the stock. Bring the mixture to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer gently for about 30 minutes. 

Run an immersion blender through the soup, just enough to give it a slight creaminess, but not pureeing it entirely. Or, remove about 1/2 of the soup to a blender and puree it, then return it to the pot. Sprinkle with pepper, add more salt if needed. 

Divide the soup among 6 oven-proof bowls. Sprinkle cheese on top of each and run under the broiler for a minute or two until the cheese melts and browns. Watch carefully so as not to burn it. 

For a more hearty meal, place a slice of toasted crusty bread in the bottom of the bowl and ladle the soup over it.  

Rugelach

My sister gave me this recipe in 2006 (I know this because it's an email that I printed off). I've made it every year since. It's a favorite with my husband and son, and the girls like them too. They are not large, just 2 bites, but oh, so tasty. 

An easy cream cheese pastry is sprinkled with sugar, dried raisins and cranberries and cinnamon, then rolled up, brushed with egg, and sprinkled with sugar. I used gold sanding sugar this year because I found some in my cupboard, but white sugar works just fine.

Rugelach

Pastry:

2 cups flour

1/2 cup icing sugar

1 cup cold butter, cut into cubes

4 oz cold cream cheese, cut into cubes

1 egg, for brushing, whisked to combine yolk and white

sugar for sprinkling

Place flour and icing sugar in a food processor. Mix. Add the butter and cream cheese to the flour mixture and pulse until dough starts to come together. It may take awhile, but be patient, it will turn into a lovely cohesive ball in time. Form into three balls, then flatten each into a disc. Wrap separately in plastic wrap (or parchment paper). Chill until firm, at least 30 minutes. The dough can be made ahead, but let it come to room temperature (cool) for better handling.

Filling:

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2/3 cup dried sweetened cranberries

2/3 cup raisins

1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

Chop the raisins and cranberries together, then combine with the sugar and cinnamon in the food processor. Pulse until chopped a little more, and all the fruit is covered with cinnamon sugar.

On a lightly floured counter, roll each disc into a 12 inch (approximate) circle. Sprinkle with one third of the fruit and sugar mixture. Pat gently into dough. Cut into pie shaped wedges, 12-16 per circle. A pizza-cutter works well for this. Roll each wedge, beginning from the wide end. Place, point down, on a parchment covered baking sheet.

Brush with egg, sprinkle with sugar. Bake at 350 degrees for 13-16 minutes, or until golden. These freeze well. 

Puffy Omelet with Sauteed Apples

Light and airy, this concoction is more like a souffle than an omelet. Combined with sauteed apples, a drizzle of maple syrup, and accompanied by toast and tea, it makes a fine Saturday morning breakfast. Sausages or bacon on the side wouldn't come amiss. Best of all, it can be whipped together from eggshell to plate in less than 25 minutes.

Puffy Omelet

4 eggs, separated

1/4 cup water

1/4 tsp salt

few grinds of freshly ground black pepper

1 Tablespoon butter

In mixing bowl, beat egg whites with the water and salt until stiff peaks form. In another bowl, beat the egg yolks and pepper until thick and lemon coloured. Fold into the egg whites.

Heat oven to 325 degrees. In a 10 inch skillet with an ovenproof handle, melt the butter over medium heat. Pour the omelet mixture into the skillet. Reduce heat to medium low, letting the omelet cook, without disturbing it, until puffy, about 5 minutes. Don't let the bottom burn.

Place in oven to finish cooking, 12 to 15 minutes. While the omelet bakes, prepare the apples.

Sauteed Apples

1-2 apples, quartered and cored (I like to leave the peel on, but that's up to you)

1 Tablespoon butter

2 Tablespoons brown sugar

2 Tablespoons water

2 Tablespoons maple syrup

Heat the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add the apples and stir gently until they begin to slightly soften. Add the brown sugar, stir until all the apples are coated. Add the water and maple syrup. Let the mixture simmer gently until the apples are tender but still hold together.

To serve, slide the omelet onto a plate, score across the middle, spoon the apples on one side and flip the other side over top. Serve with a drizzle of maple syrup. 

Pear Cranberry Crisp

Warm, spicy, tart, sweet - this crisp has it all. I like a high topping to fruit ratio in my dessert and baking this in a shallow dish allowed for a good balance of crisp, sweet earthy crumbiness and soft, juicy fruitiness. What makes it special is the addition of candied ginger to the crumb mixture. 

This is a riff on the standard Betty Crocker apple crisp recipe that I've used for years. I don't think Betty would mind the liberties I've taken.

Pear Cranberry Crisp

2 - 4 large ripe pears, quartered, then cored and cubed (I left the peels on)

1/3 cup fresh cranberries (frozen are fine)

Place the fruit in a shallow baking dish, 8 x 8 inches, or equivalent. I should mention that in the above photo, I used only 2 pears because that's what I had, and because of the aforementioned desire for a high crumb to fruit ratio. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Topping:

2/3 cup brown sugar (packed) 

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 cup oats

1-2 Tablespoons finely chopped candied ginger

3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg (if you use pre-ground nutmeg, increase to 3/4 tsp)

1/3 cup butter, softened

Mix all of the above in a medium bowl, using your fingers to achieve a crumbly mixture. Sprinkle over the fruit. Bake 30 - 35 minutes until the pears are tender and the topping a rich golden brown. Serve warm. 

Try it with some softly whipped cream, lightly sweetened, with a touch of vanilla. I didn't, and the dessert was wonderful, but I can imagine it would only be improved with the cream. 

Apple Pastry Squares

In the 1970s, Better Homes and Gardens published a series of cookbooks. In hardcover, the book titles included "Salads," "Cooking for Two," "Meals on a Budget," and "Homemade Cookies." My mother and my aunt had a lot of those books and I loved looking through them. When I married, I collected a few of my own, which I still have, including the last one listed, from which this recipe is taken.

I noted that I first made the recipe on April 9, 1980, and put a star beside it. I'd give it the same rating today, especially with the changes I've made. The pastry is flaky and crisp, the apple filling not too sweet, and the drizzled icing adds the last layer of flavor. Perfect with a cup of tea or coffee for dessert. Some like it with ice cream, I prefer it plain.

Regarding what kind of apples to use - I tend to use whatever is in the fridge. Granny Smiths are good and tart. Today I used a couple of small apples scavenged from an abandoned tree, plus some organic Honey Crisp apples from the store. 

Apple Pastry Squares


For the pastry:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup butter, at room temperature
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg, separated
about 2/3 cup milk


In a food processor, combine the salt and flour. Cut the butter into chunks, place on top of the flour and pulse until fine crumbs form. Place the egg yolk in a measuring cup and add milk to make 3/4 cup. Whisk slightly, pour over the flour/butter mixture and pulse just until the dough comes together. Wrap in waxed paper and chill about 10 minutes.


Filling:
1 cup granola (or Corn Flakes)
4 medium apples, peeled, cored and sliced
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon


Divide dough in half. Cut a sheet of parchment paper that will fit into a 15.5 x 10.5 x 1 inch baking sheet with some overlap. On the paper, roll one half of the dough into a rectangle, about 15 x 10 inches. The dough is quite soft and fragile, but mends easily. Add flour to the surface as needed to prevent sticking. Lift the parchment paper and dough and place into the baking pan. 


Sprinkle the granola over the pastry in the pan, leaving about 1/2 inch free around the edges. Top with the apple slices. Combine the sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle over the apples. 


Roll the remaining pastry and place over the apples. Seal the edges. Cut small slits in the top of the pastry. Beat the egg white until frothy, brush over the pastry top. Bake at 375 degrees for 50 minutes. The pastry will be golden brown and the apples tender.


Glaze:
1 cup icing (powdered) sugar
3-4 teaspoons milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract


While the pastry is still warm, drizzle the glaze over top.